Fibroids

Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Remedies

Fibroids Treatment Remedies

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The contents of this app are provided for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. The information provided should not be considered as a substitute for the advice of a medical doctor or other healthcare professional.

What are Fibroids?

The singular of uterine fibroids is Uterine Fibroma.

Fibroids are growths of smooth muscle and fibrous tissue.

They are also known as uterine fibroids, myomas, or fibromyomas.

Fibroids can vary in size, from that of a bean to as large as a melon.

Fibroids affect at least 20% of all women at sometime during their life.

Women aged between 30 and 50 are the most likely to develop fibroids.

Overweight and obese women are at significantly higher risk of developing fibroids, compared to women of normal weight.

Malignant (cancerous) growths on the smooth muscles inside the womb can develop, called leiomyosarcoma of the womb. However, this is extremely rare.

Cervical fibroids develop in the neck of the womb.

Fibroids Symptoms

In rare cases fibroids can reduce a woman’s fertility.

Women with fibroids sometimes have complications during pregnancy.

If there are no symptoms treatment for fibroids is usually not required.

If symptoms are present, medication may be used to treat the symptoms.

Surgery is usually a last resort and only offered if symptoms are severe or uncontrolled by medication.

Only about 1 in 3 women with fibroids have any symptoms.

Fibroids do not usually disturb the normal menstrual cycle.

Women with larger fibroids sometimes suffer bloating.

Larger fibroids sometimes cause swelling in the abdomen.

Rarely, fibroids can cause back pain.

Some women with fibroids experience constipation as a symptom.

Pregnant women with fibroids are more likely to require a caesarean section.

Pregnant women with fibroids are more likely to have early-onset labour.

Pregnant women with fibroids are more likely to have a breech baby, this is where the baby lying with its bottom rather than its head in the birth canal during or just before labour.

Women with fibroids are more likely to become anaemic due to blood loss during heavy periods.

Bleeding between periods is a symptom of fibroids.

In rare cases, severe abdominal pain may be a symptom of fibroids.

Some women with fibroids feel a sensation of pressure in their pelvic region.

Women with fibroids might feel as if they are unable to empty their bladder fully on urination.

Women under 30 with fibroids rarely experience any symptoms.

Tiredness can be a symptom of fibroids if they are causing anaemia due to blood loss.

Fibroids Causes

Fibroids are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue.

The exact cause of fibroids is unknown.

Fibroids are most common between the ages of 30 and 50.

Fibroids are more common in women of African Caribbean descent.

Fibroids are more common in overweight or obese women due to increased levels of oestrogen.

Women who have had children are at a lower risk of developing fibroids.

The risk of developing fibroids decreases with each child a woman has.

Fibroids tend to shrink during and after menopause as oestrogen levels reduce.

Early onset of menstruation, particularly before the age of ten, is a known risk factor for developing fibroids later on.

The risk of developing fibroids rises with age from puberty up until menopause.

Menopausal women who use hormone replacement therapy may find that fibroids grow during treatment.

Fibroids Diagnosis

An abdominal ultrasound scan – where the ultrasound probe is moved over the outside of your tummy (abdomen).

A transvaginal ultrasound scan – where the ultrasound probe is inserted into your vagina.

Images produced by these scans are transmitted to a monitor so your doctor can see if there are any signs of fibroids.

A hysteroscopy involves inserting a small telescope (hysteroscope) into your vagina so your doctor can examine the inside of your womb.

It can be carried out under local anaesthetic or general anaesthetic, so you won't feel any pain during the procedure.

A hysteroscopy is most often used to look for fibroids within your womb (submucosal fibroids).

A laparoscope is a small tube that contains a light source and a camera.

The camera relays images of the inside of the abdomen or pelvis to a television monitor.

Fibroids Complications/side effects

The larger the fibroids are, the higher the chance of complications.

In rare cases a fibroid grows so large that it cuts off its own blood supply and dies.

A fibroid with no blood supply may cause infection in rare cases.

A rare complication of fibroids during pregnancy is placental abruption, this is where the placenta detaches from the uterine wall before delivery and can prevent the foetus from getting enough oxygen.

Women with fibroids are slightly more likely to have a miscarriage than women who do not have fibroids.

Large fibroids can sometimes prevent a woman from becoming pregnant by preventing the fertilised egg from attaching to the wall of the uterus, although this is very rare.

The side effects of some of the medications used to treat fibroids include acne.

Some of the drugs used to treat the symptoms of fibroids can cause headaches.

Many of the drugs used to treat the symptoms of fibroids can cause weight gain.

Some of the drugs used to treat the symptoms of fibroids can interfere with a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant while taking them.

Fibroids Treatment

Women with severe symptoms are sometimes given a hormone medication to reduce the levels of oestrogen in their body.

Hormone treatment has complications including early menopause and osteoporosis so treatment usually lasts a maximum of six months.

Women who have completed their family may be offered a hysterectomy to remove the womb therefore removing fibroids and preventing them from reoccurring.

Myomectomy surgery is offered to women with problematic fibroids who may wish to have further children. This involves removing the fibroids but leaving the womb intact.

An endometrial ablation is an operation that removes the lining of the womb.

This method is sometimes used to remove fibroids which are close to the inner lining of the womb.

Levonorgestrel intrauterine system is sometimes offered to women with fibroids.

This is similar to the contraceptive coil and releases a small amount of progesterone into the womb.

A procedure called uterine artery embolisation is sometimes carried out on fibroids.

This involves inserting a catheter through an artery in the leg and directing it towards the arteries that supply blood to the fibroids.

These blood vessels can then be blocked by a substance that is fed through the catheter, cutting off blood supply to the fibroid.

Drugs used to treat osteoporosis in post-menopausal women have been used to decrease the size of fibroids, although results of this therapy have been conflicting.

A drug called tranexamic acid, which is usually used to treat heavy periods has been shown in some trials to shrink fibroids.

The Depro-provera contraceptive injection is sometimes offered as a treatment for the symptoms associated with fibroids.

Some hospitals are beginning to use laser therapy to cut off the blood supply to fibroids, making them shrink.

A drug called norethisterone is sometimes used to treat the symptoms of fibroids but the side effects can be unpleasant.

Women who have fibroids are encouraged to eat a healthy diet as this may slow or prevent their growth.

Women with fibroids may be advised to take vitamin supplements as some vitamins have been shown to reduce abnormal blood clots.

Some herbal medicines are thought to help fibroids by balancing hormones.

However these should be used with caution particularly in women who use an oral contraceptive.

Fibroids Prevention

There are no proven measures you can take to prevent fibroids from developing.

Studies show that athletic women seem to be less likely to develop fibroids than women who are obese or who don't exercise.

The only treatment that absolutely prevents regrowth of fibroids is removal of the entire uterus, called hysterectomy.

After hysterectomy, you cannot get pregnant.

While many women report an improved quality of life after hysterectomy, there are also possible long-term side effects to think about.

Fibroids Statistics & Facts

Fibroids are non-cancerous tumours that grow in or around the womb.

Fibroids can vary in size considerably.

Fibroids are sometimes known as uterine myomas.

Fibroids are also known as leiomyomas.

Fibroids are often diagnosed during a routine genealogical exam.

An ultrasound scan is usually used to confirm diagnosis of fibroids.

It is very rare for fibroids to spread to other areas of the body, they almost always stay in or around the womb.

If you have fibroids and become pregnant, your doctor may refer you to an obstetrician for close observation during your pregnancy.

Fibroids are not associated with an increased risk of uterine cancer.

Fibroids grow at varying rates, some grow very slowly and others really quickly.

Some women have fibroids during pregnancy that disappear shortly after delivery.

In some cases an MRI scan is used to diagnose fibroids, but an ultrasound is the preferred method.

Fibroids are often measured by comparing them in size to a foetus at a particular number of weeks of pregnancy.

So a doctor may describe fibroids as being equivalent to a 12 week pregnancy.

Some fibroids have been described as being as big as an eight month foetus.

The heavy periods experienced by women with fibroids are due to the fact that the fibroids increase the surface area of the womb lining.

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Fibroids Treatment Remedies plus

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The contents of this app are provided for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. The information provided should not be considered as a substitute for the advice of a medical doctor or other healthcare professional.

What are Fibroids?

Fibroids are non-cancerous (benign) tumors that grow from the muscle layers of the uterus (womb).

Intramural fibroids develop in the muscle wall of the womb.

Subserosal fibroids develop outside the wall of the womb.

Submucosal fibroids develop in the muscle layer beneath the lining of the womb.

Pedunculated fibroids grow outside the womb, but are attached to it by a stalk.

It is extremely uncommon for fibroids to be cancerous.

Fibroids Symptoms

Many women with fibroids have no symptoms.

Pain or discomfort during sex is a common symptom of fibroids.

Heavy periods are a symptom of fibroids.

Some women with fibroids suffer from painful periods.

A frequent need to urinate is sometimes a symptom of fibroids.

Fibroids Causes

More than 40% of women develop fibroids at some point.

It is believed that fibroids are linked to the hormone oestrogen.

Fibroids usually develop during a woman’s reproductive years (16-50 years of age)

There is some research to suggest that having persistent urinary tract infections could be a risk factor for developing fibroids.

Women who have problems with their liver are more likely to develop fibroids due to the liver being unable to deactivate oestrogen.

Fibroids Treatment

Anti-inflammatory medicines are sometimes used to treat the symptoms of fibroids.

Many women with fibroids are prescribed the contraceptive pill to control oestrogen levels and reduce painful periods.

Sometimes the morning after pill is given to treat fibroids, this is because it interferes with hormones that can cause fibroids.

Hormone treatment is sometimes used to shrink fibroids before surgery to make them easier to remove.

Another treatment option is an MRI-guided focused ultrasound which sends high pulses of ultrasound through the skin of the lower abdomen.